Learning architectural conservation in a World Heritage City

Iasonas discusses why he chose MSc in Conservation of Historic Buildings, how the course works and his future plans.

Weekly site visits to historic buildings give students the chance to see conservation in practice

This master's is a great choice for someone who wants to combine structural engineering with the architecture of heritage structures. The modules are organised in a way that promotes knowledge through personal effort and research. The lecturers are high level professionals or academics who have proved to be an endless source of information. The course itself provides a great balance of self-development, personal research, lectures and site visits.

The most interesting part of my course has been the weekly site visits. We've visited ongoing conservation projects and heritage structures of significant historic, architectural and aesthetic value. This frequent integration with real-time projects creates the feeling of an active course that breaks the frame of monotonous theatre lectures. It maintains students interest and supports our efforts to research on real cases. The course encourages us to integrate our theoretical knowledge gain through lectures in a more complete framework.

Bath is a great city to study this course in; it's a UNESCO World Heritage site that also manages to be modern and lively at the same time. It's the best place to specialise in conservation of historic buildings.

The University offers an endless list of activities to get involved with, including a number of sports teams and student societies. The support services, such as academic writing skills, are well organised and make student life easier.

Future steps

After I graduate, I plan to work within the city or anywhere else in the UK. The University offers opportunities for networking and this helps to integrate with the local job market and makes job hunting an easier process.

‘Bath is the best place to specialise in conservation of historic buildings.’